Its local pubs are Clarence Pier in Southsea, Harbour Lights in Port Solent, The Oast and Squire in Fareham, The Red Lion in Horndean, the Rusty Cutter in Havant, and Great Oak in Petersfield.

Although none of the pubs has had definitive confirmation, Whitbread has recalled the meat indicating contamination.

When called, local managers referred all inquiries to the Whitbread head office.

The firm released a statement, saying: ‘We take the quality and standards of our food extremely seriously.

‘We have continued to receive assurances from our suppliers about the meat content of our products. In line with the Food Standards Agency guidance we have carried out independent tests on meat products.

‘We sent 30 products to be tested and received the test results yesterday on Thursday, February 14. The two affected products were a meat lasagne and a beefburger.

‘We’re shocked and disappointed at this failure of the processed meat supply chain. As a responsible business, we’ll work with the FSA to implement a robust testing regime to avoid this happening in the future.

‘We’d like to sincerely apologise to our customers for any concerns or inconvenience that this may cause.’

Further tests will be carried out on the affected products and all lines were removed from the restaurant menus across the country.